Federal Investigators Work To Determine Cause Of Seattle Helicopter Crash

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SEATTLE — Federal investigators worked Wednesday to painstakingly deconstruct a KOMO-TV news helicopter and determine what caused the aircraft to crash onto a Seattle street Tuesday, killing the pilot and a photographer.

That task is complicated by the sheer intensity of the accident, which engulfed the helicopter in flames and left the body of the aircraft an unrecognizable heap of rubble. Crews have been sifting through the wreckage to determine which components remained intact.

“A lot of those parts and pieces are simply gone,” said Dennis Hogenson, acting deputy chief of the National Transportation Safety Board’s Western Pacific Region.

Hogenson said there’s always a possibility that crews wouldn’t be able to pinpoint the nature of any mechanical issue — if that’s what caused the accident — because of the extent of the damage. But he was optimistic that wouldn’t happen.

“I’m confident that we’re going to figure this out,” Hogenson said.

Investigators were still exploring all possible causes, reviewing maintenance records, collecting video from the Seattle Police Department, assessing witness statements and interviewing construction-crane operators in the area. Technical experts from both the helicopter and engine manufacturers were on hand to help.

Hogenson said the pilot had approximately 900 hours of experience in the helicopter model — a Eurocopter AS350 — that crashed and some 7,700 hours of flight time overall.

The last significant maintenance inspection on the aircraft occurred in January, and Hogenson said there were no outstanding maintenance issues and no reports of problems when the pilot returned from an initial flight earlier Tuesday.

The accident occurred about 7:40 a.m. Tuesday as the helicopter was taking off from the rooftop helipad at Fisher Plaza across Broad Street from the Space Needle.

The area surrounding the crash site includes cranes that loom high above construction sites. Hogenson said the pilot typically communicates with those crane operators during landings and takeoffs, and the pilot had contacted one crane operator shortly before takeoff, simply notifying the person that the helicopter was departing.

Hogenson said there’s no indication at this point that the cranes had anything to do with the crash. Witnesses have said the helicopter barely started its takeoff before tumbling to the street.